# Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone

*PRI Rank #7 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026/rank-7*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #7 |
| 18m citations | 41 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41586-024-07126-4 |
| Corresponding authors | Alice Bridges, Lars Chıttka |
| Institution | Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41586-024-07126-4](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07126-4)

## Topics

Bumble bee · Social learning · Cumulative culture · Puzzle-box task · Cumulative culture · Demonstrator bees · observer bees · individual learning limitation · unrewarded first step · temporary reward removal · invertebrate culture · behavioral complexity threshold · trial and error learning · food reward acquisition · re-innovation failure · extended exposure experiment · Demonstrator bees · naive bees

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```